Popcorn Junkies Movie Reviews

The Power of the Dog is a 2021 Western psychological drama film written and directed by Jane Campion. It is based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same name. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Shot mostly across rural Otago, New Zealand, the film is an international co-production between New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Unite...

Parallel Mothers (Spanish: Madres paralelas) is a 2021 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film stars Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit and features Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Israel Elejalde, Julieta Serrano and Rossy de Palma. It had its premiere as the opening film of the 78th Venice International Film Festival on 1 September 2021 where Penélope Cruz was awarded the Volpi Cup...

Nightmare Alley is a 2021 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by del Toro and Kim Morgan, based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, being the second feature film adaptation of Gresham's novel, following the 1947 version. A co-production between Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment, and Double Dare You Producti...

Belfast is a 2021 British coming of age comedy-drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film stars Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, and newcomer Jude Hill. The film, which Branagh has described as his "most personal film", centres on a young boy's childhood amidst the tumult of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1960s.   Belfast had its worl...

Scream (also known as Scream 5) is a 2022 American slasher film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. It is the fifth installment in the Scream film series. Though billed as a relaunch of the film series, the film is a direct sequel to Scream 4 (2011) and is the first in the film series not to be directed by Wes Craven, following his de...

Licorice Pizza is a 2021 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who also serves as one of the film's producers and cinematographers. The film stars Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, and Benny Safdie.   Licorice Pizza was released in the United States in select theaters on November 26, 2021, and was widely released...

The Lost Daughter is a 2021 psychological drama film written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal in her feature directorial debut, based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante. The film stars Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Dagmara Domińczyk, Jack Farthing, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, with Peter Sarsgaard, and Ed Harris. Colman also serves as an executive producer on t...

Titane (English: Titanium) is a 2021 body horror film written and directed by Julia Ducournau. The French-Belgian co-production stars Agathe Rousselle in her feature film debut as Alexia, a woman who, after being injured in a car accident as a child, has a titanium plate fitted into her head. Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier and Laïs Salameh also star.   The film had its world premiere at th...

The King's Man is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the Kingsman film series, which is based on the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, the film serves as a prequel to 2014's Kingsman: The Secret Service and 2017's Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The film features a...

C'mon C'mon is a 2021 American black-and-white drama film written and directed by Mike Mills. It stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Scoot McNairy, Molly Webster, Jaboukie Young-White, and Woody Norman. The film had its world premiere at the 48th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and was released in limited theatres on November 19, 2021, by A24. It has received acclaim from critics H...

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and is the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Jon Watts and written by...

Lamb (Icelandic: Dýrið, "The animal") is a 2021 Icelandic drama film directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón. The film stars Noomi Rapace, and marks Valdimar Jóhannsson's feature-length directorial debut. Rapace and Béla Tarr act as executive producers. After premiering at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the film was released in Iceland on 24 September 2021. It w...

House of Gucci is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott , based on the 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. The film follows Patrizia Reggiani ( Lady Gaga ) and Maurizio Gucci ( Adam Driver ), as their romance transforms into a fight for control of the Italian fashion brand Gucci . Jared Leto ,...

 Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd, while Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts reprise their roles from the original films. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II...

Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Chloé Zhao, who wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo. It stars an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Rich...

Last Night in Soho is a 2021 British psychological horror film directed by Edgar Wright, with a screenplay by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, from a story by Wright. The film stars Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Michael Ajao, Diana Rigg and Terence Stamp. It marks the final film appearances of Rigg and Margaret Nolan, who both died in 2020.   Last Night in Soho premiered at...

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun is a 2021 romantic comedy-drama anthology film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars a star-studded ensemble cast featuring Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri,...

Antlers is a 2021 supernatural horror film directed by Scott Cooper. It follows a school teacher and her police officer brother in a small Oregon town, where they become convinced one of her students is harboring a supernatural creature. The film stars Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, and Amy Madigan. The screenplay, written by C. Henry Chais...

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a 2021 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Venom, produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel and Tencent Pictures. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the second film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe and the sequel to Venom (2018). The film is directed by Andy Serkis from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, based on a story sh...

Dune (titled onscreen as Dune: Part One) is a 2021 American epic science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve with a screenplay by Jon Spaihts, Villeneuve, and Eric Roth. It is the first of a planned two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert, primarily covering the first half of the book. Set in the far future, it follows Paul Atreides, as he and his family, the...

The Green Knight is a 2021 medieval fantasy film directed, written, edited and produced by David Lowery, adapted from the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The film stars Dev Patel as Gawain, a nephew of King Arthur, who sets out on a journey to test his courage and face the Green Knight. It also stars Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, and Ralph Ineson...

No Time to Die is a 2021 spy film and the 25th in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. It stars Daniel Craig in his fifth and final outing as the fictional British MI6 agent. It is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear and R...

Rose Plays Julie features a young female veterinary student, Rose, who is 'adrift in the world'. Having been adopted as an infant, Rose decides to track down her birth mother. She fantasises about how her life might have been lived had she not been adopted and instead been 'Julie', the name on her birth certificate. After she has succeeded in finding her birth mother Ellen, an actress, and learnt...

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a screenplay he wrote with Dave Callaham and Andrew Lanham, from a story...

Pig is a 2021 American drama film co-written and directed by Michael Sarnoski in his directorial debut. It stars Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, and Adam Arkin, and follows a truffle forager whose beloved truffle-finding pig is stolen. It was released theatrically in the United States on July 16, 2021, by Neon. The film received acclaim from critics, who praised its direction and themes, as well as Cage...